A MAN WEARING a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage in central London today killed two people before being shot dead by police.
Several people were stabbed by the knifeman before he was grappled to the ground and disarmed by members of the public on London Bridge.
Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick confirmed this evening that two members of the public have died this evening. A further three people have been injured.
NHS England confirmed one of the three injured victims was “critical but stable” while another is stable. The third victim has less serious injuries.
PA News understands that the man was known to authorities and had connections to Islamist terrorist groups.
“I am deeply saddened and angered that our city has again been targeted by terrorism.
It is with the heaviest of hearts that I must now inform you that, as well as the suspect who was shot dead by police, two of those injured in this attack in the London Bridge area have tragically lost their lives.
The Commissioner also thanked members of the public who showed “extraordinary courage” by tackling the attacker, or who followed instructions from police after the attack.
“This support from our public assists us more than you could know.”
She couldn’t comment on whether the person was working alone or with others.
As you know we are treating this as a terrorist incident. Fighting terrorism takes effort and determination from all of us. If you have any information or concerns, please do contact us.
“The empty ideology of terror offers nothing but hatred and today I urge everyone to reject that. Ours is a great city because we embrace each other’s differences. We must emerge stronger still from this tragedy.
“In doing that we will ensure that the few who seek to divide us will never, ever succeed.”
The members of the public who intervened have been widely praised, with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan hailing their “breathtaking heroism” and Prime Minister Boris Johnson their “extraordinary bravery”.
Footage on social media showed one man being urged to move away by armed officers before the suspect was shot at point-blank range. Another bystander could be seen carrying a large knife from the scene.
Eye-witnesses said the suspect appeared to be wearing a suicide vest but Neil Basu, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said the vest was a fake.
He said police were called at around 2pm on Friday to a stabbing “at a premises near London Bridge”.
The bridge was the scene of a terror attack in 2017 – also during a general election campaign – when eight victims were killed along with the three terrorists, who were also wearing fake suicide vests and armed with knives.
After being shot, the suspect in today’s attack raised his arms towards his head before lying still. A second knife could be seen on the ground near his body.
Basu told reporters: “A male suspect was shot by specialist armed officers from City of London police and I can confirm that this suspect died at the scene.”
The London Ambulance Service declared it a major incident and one picture on social media appeared to show a body covered with a blanket.
Speaking in Downing Street, Johnson said: “To the best of our knowledge the incident has been contained and I pay tribute again to the work of the police and the emergency services and what they have done.
But I would urge everybody, of course, to be vigilant and one cannot help but think back to what happened in 2017 in the same part of the city and I hope very much that people will be able as fast as possible to go about their normal business.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog said it has launched an investigation into the police shooting of the London Bridge attacker which is standard for such incidents.
- With reporting from Daragh Brophy
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